"Ma`am, I understand how badly you want a baby, but trying to steal mine isn't the way to go about it. There are plenty of orphanages and women who'd willingly give you a baby in return for money. I just cannot give up mine. I hope you understand at this point it's not personal. I just cannot carry a baby for nine months and not keep it." Penelope tried to explain to her gently, hoping that she would understand. What she hadn't expected was the woman to go from crying, to attacking her in a split second.
Penelope tried to cover her face as the woman tried to strike her repeatedly in the face and fell over the water bucket and landed on the ground. Pulling out her pistol she aimed it at the woman who stopped when she saw the gun.
"I don't want to shoot you, but you need to leave. If you come out here again, I will shoot you next time. There won't be any time for conversations. You are not welcome around me, or my home. Get out of here, and I will be telling Dave about your visit and don't think that violence like this will go without consequences." Penelope told her, talking a big game, but knowing that without witnesses, Dave couldn't do much to help her.
But the angry looking woman in front of her didn't know that, so she continued to bluff.
"This isn't over. I will have your baby and nothing you can do will stop me from taking it from you." The lady threatened her and then left, leaving Penelope to climb up off the ground and hope she was okay.
The rest of the laundry had spilled out into the now muddy ground from the water soaking into the earth, and Penelope realized she'd have to start over on the wash. Her heart was pounding from the confrontation and she realized that she wouldn't be safe here.
What she needed was a husband. Maybe she could advertise as a mail order bride. She could ask Dave what he thought. Maybe he'd know how to help her find a husband or if going back home was the safest option she had.
The idea of leaving this town and the people she'd come to love, broke her heart. She'd attended church every week since she'd come here, and Dave had continued to take her on Sundays. She'd miss people. She'd miss the mostly quiet serenity that this place had to offer.
Realizing her dress was ruined with mud, she went to change her clothes and lock herself in the house until Dave got home and she could talk to him. This surprise visit made her realize she couldn't put off the baby conversation anymore and it had to happen.
She just hoped Dave would help her find a solution that wouldn't make her miserable for the rest of her life. She feared going back home. She'd come out west because there were more job opportunities and a better chance of having a good life. Feeling trapped and like her fragile thread of hope had been completely torn to shreds she realized she'd been hiding out here, living a fantasy and it was time to face reality.
Even if it unpleasant.
Chapter 4
"Dave?" Penelope asked him as she set dinner on the table. He actually cooked for her too frequently, and she appreciated it. She didn't mind doing most of the domestic work, but he seemed to like to enjoy doing things for her sometimes. Their friendship was rather weird, and would probably startle most people.
"What's going on Penny?" He asked her as he sat down to eat, he'd shortened her name to a nickname and used it quite affectionately.
"I had a visitor today, and it made me realize we need to talk about the baby," Penelope told him as she sat down and dished herself up a plate of food.
She explained what happened. How her old Mistress had visited her, threatened her, begged for her baby, how she'd pulled a gun on her, and made her leave.
Dave sat back and set his fork down and just stared at her for a moment.
"I think I need to plan to leave either right after the baby is born, or work on finding myself a husband. I don't want to go back home to my mother. I got a letter from her and she told me that the trains are constantly being raided near them and there's a good chance something bad would happen." Penelope grabbed her water goblet and took a drink before setting it back on the table. She was unable to read Dave's face, but she was worried he was upset with her.
"I cannot believe that idiot would think to come here and accost you like that," Dave all but growled, looking quite fierce. Penelope was flattered he was so protective of her. "Of course it's not safe for you to go back home. You aren't going anywhere Penny, it's safest for you to stay here. The baby is welcome here too."
"The problem is I will be an unwed mother. Unless, I go somewhere no one knows me and claim to be a widow, or have a husband, we will never be treated well. If I stay here, they will think the baby is yours." Penelope told him gently and reached across the table to grab his hand. "Don't you think that you deserve better than having the town’s people think the worst about both of us? Living in sin, I've heard the rumors already at church."
"So? I don't care what they think," Dave told her and gave her a firm look that told her she shouldn't worry about their opinions either.
"But my child will be tortured, mistreated, they may not let him or her attend the local school house, and the church will shun me. I know that it's not going to go well for me if I stay here after the baby is born Dave. I think maybe I should put an ad in the paper to be a mail order bride." She told him gently, hoping he'd agree to help her.
"Absolutely not! You might get murdered, or abused, or the man might be a child abuser. There's no way I'm helping you marry a total stranger that you meet via a random piece of paper." Dave pulled his hand away and ran his fingers through his hair in his agitation with the situation.
"I'm sorry Dave, I wasn't trying to upset you. I just wanted to find the best solution to the problem." Penelope told him.
"Then you'll marry me," Dave told her bluntly and crossed his arms. "We get along well, I can afford a wife and child, and I wouldn't mind claiming the baby as my own. You'll get the protection you need, the child gets a name, and I get a woman I respect to be my wife. One I know I can already handle living with."
"You seem to have it all figured out, and what about our other differences?" She asked him bluntly. Her being mixed race could cause some issues.
"Do you think I seem to care? Out here, people care less about skin color than they do about hard work, money, and what clothes you wear. You'll be my wife, I'll make sure you don't want for anything and no one would dare cause problems for us or our children." Dave looked at her sternly, being logical. "I would love more than one child, if you did agree to marry me, I'd want a big family. My mother died in childbirth with my younger brother. Because of it, dad never remarried and I was raised alone. I don't want that for my child. It's lonely."
"You're offering me marriage, a family, more children, a home, and comfort? It seems too good to be true. What's the catch Dave?" Penelope asked him quietly. She would be considered damaged goods by most men, especially carrying the seed of another man. How could he over look that?
"The catch? We do the right thing and wait until our wedding night." He told her simply and took her hand. "Penelope, will you marry me?"
Looking at him and searching his face for some kind of malicious joke, or him to tell her he took it back she finally nodded at him when his gaze never wavered.
"Okay, I'll marry you Dave, if you are sure you want to marry me." Penelope wasn't expecting a proposal from him and she was a little shocked that he'd offered. "I'm just surprised, that's all."
"Why?" Dave seemed genuinely curious and a little shocked at her answer.
"You've already given me a place to live, a job, and money that I saved up so I can survive. You've taught me how to shoot guns. I just don't understand exactly what you get out of it. You've given me a lot." Penelope told him honestly. If they were going to be married, honesty would be the key to a successful marriage. She wouldn't accept less.
"Have you ever considered maybe the fact that you over think it?" Dave smiled at her and then rubbed his chin and shrugged. "I found you attractive, and you seemed like you needed help. I was lonely and I didn't mind the company. Having you around showed
me that I liked having someone here. Everything else about you was just a bonus. If I didn't find you attractive and intelligent I probably wouldn't have offered to marry you though. I can be friends with people I like, but what I feel for you is more than just friendship."
"Do you love me?" Penelope asked him bluntly, realizing that she might not like his answer.
"I think I could," Dave told her honestly. "I know that I don't mind that you're pregnant, and I like the idea of being a father. I want to settle down and it's not just because you're already here. I would have probably sought out a wife in the next year or two anyways. I think it was good luck that a compatible woman fell into my lap."
"So you think it was fate?" Penelope gave him a confused look; this conversation wasn't really helping her understand him any better right now.
"Let me start over," Dave said chuckling. "I rescued you because it was the right thing to do. I brought you here because something about you made me not want to let you disappear until I got to know you better. Whether you want to call it sheer curiosity, or lust or the potential for love, I don't know. The only thing I will regret in this situation is if I let you leave before offering you a life with me."
"But you don't love me?" Penelope asked him again, she could sort of understand the rest. Realizing suddenly that if she stayed here with him, agreed to marry him, love was important.
"I like you a lot. I can picture spending my life with you. I can picture growing old with you and seeing our grandchildren play in the yard. As to love, I know you seem to really want an answer about that one right now and so I guess my question to you is, do you love me?" Dave turned the question back around on her.
"I could, I think." Penelope answered him honestly and searched his face. "I have strong feelings for you. I think if I let them blossom I could easily love you, which is why I think I'm worried about it being a one-way street. I don't think I could love someone who only liked me in return. I would feel like something was missing."
"Penelope, I think that given time together love is something that grows between people. There are many kinds of love and I'd rather have whatever the two of us have together, than some whirlwind passion that blows away as fast as it started. We have a real connection. Friendship, dare I say the potential for passion?"
"I find that attractive," Penelope whispered and dipped her head down, feeling slightly embarrassed.
Dave stood up and grabbed her hand pulling her out of her seat. Pulling her to his chest he lowered his head and kissed her.
Penelope clung to his shoulders as his lips met hers. Soft at first, slow and teasing she leaned into him and let the emotions and sensations fill her. When he teased her lips with his tongue she opened her mouth slightly and he deepened the kiss. His hands went down to her hips and he dug his fingers slightly into her waist and held her close as his mouth was hot against her own.
When he finally pulled back, his lips were swollen and his eyes were heavy. "Do you still have any doubts that what we have is more than just two people who live in the same house now?"
Penelope searched his face and then smiled at him, "No, I think you are right. There is definitely something between us that has a lot of potential."
"Good, now I need to get some stuff done today. I have to go out and fix some fences that the cows have been pushing on later, but I want you to start planning our wedding right now. Order a dress, write a note to the pastor of the church, whatever you want." Dave told her and put his hand on her face gently and looked at her for a moment. "This should be a special day for both of us. I'll apply for a marriage license. I want to wait until marriage, out of respect for starting this marriage as pure as possible."
"But you realize," Penelope said blushing, knowing she was about to ask a dumb question.
"You're still pure of heart Penny. What he had you do because of your job and your situation, he took advantage of you. I respect you and our future marriage, so we will wait together." Dave pressed a kiss to her forehead and then left her there to figure out the details of the wedding.
Penelope sat down and put her hand over her belly and realized that she'd need to get a dress that was looser in the waist. Her corsets and dresses were no longer fitting.
Humming to herself, she started to make a list of things she'd need. She wasn't going to go too crazy. A few flowers, a pretty dress, and maybe a small after party for the town to celebrate their wedding. They could have it at the church.
She wrote a letter to the pastor to ask him what dates would work for him and was feeling quite content with the situation.
Chapter 5
Finished putting the last few pins in her hair, she grabbed the flowers that she was using for her bouquet and went to meet her husband-to-be down where he and the pastor were waiting for her. The entire town had showed up for the wedding. She was a little shocked, but he was well liked so maybe she shouldn't have been so surprised.
Walking down the aisle, she wished her mother was here, but at least she'd gotten a letter from her mom about the wedding before it took place. She was still small enough with her pregnancy that the dress with a princess empire cut was able to hide her growing belly.
Feeling blessed and assured that today would go without a hitch, she held her head high and went to meet her husband.
She should have realized that the family she used to work for would cause a scene, but she didn't think they'd do it at the wedding, or in front of the Sheriff.
When she got down and put her hand in Dave's, he smiled big at her, happy to see her.
"You look beautiful," He whispered to her, just loud enough only she could hear.
They turned to the pastor and when he asked if anyone had any issues with the wedding or could forever hold their peace her old Master stood up and protested.
Dave looked angry and turned to face him.
"She's nothing more than a servant. You have no business marrying her." The man told Dave angrily.
"I'm free to marry who I want. If you don't like it, leave the church." Dave told him. The people sitting in the pews were whispering loudly.
"She's pregnant with our child, and won't give it to us," Her old Mistress announced loudly, trying to humiliate her. She glared at Penelope.
Penelope was shaking in embarrassment and wished she'd realized that they might have created a scene to get back at her for denying them the baby.
Dave leaned over and spoke to one of the deputy's and asked them to escort them from the church if they wouldn't leave willingly. Nodding, Travis went to do as Dave asked.
"No, you don't understand. She is having our baby. It's mine, she has to give it to me," The woman protested and started to cry. The sympathetic looks that were tossed her way full of pity and realizing that she was falling apart in front of the entire town.
Travis forced them to leave and then stood guard at the church entrance to make sure they couldn't come back in. The pastor was waiting for the scene to be over and then cleared his throat.
"Does anyone else want to protest, or can I get on with the wedding now?" He asked loudly and waited a moment. "Okay, good."
"Thank you," Penelope mouthed to him and the pastor gave her a gentle smile as he started his sermon.
When it was over and Dave had kissed Penelope, the crowd cheered for them. The church had a buffet style of food that was setup in the other room for the reception after the ceremony. Dave escorted Penelope there and kissed her temple, telling her he was happy she was his wife.
"I'm sorry they caused a scene," Penelope whispered to him. It was a moment she'd never forget and it's not how she pictured her wedding day.
"Don't be sorry. You're not the one who chose to make a fool of yourself at someone else’s wedding. They brought this on themselves and there's a good chance that they will be shunned by many of the townsfolk after this. People don't like drama, and she's showing signs of brain sickness."
"I could almost feel bad for her, if she wasn't so aggressive about the
pregnancy. I understand wanting a child. I even understand wanting her husband's child. But you can't just take someone's baby." Penelope told him quietly and slipped her hand in his as they walked into the reception room.
"She'll get over it. I plan to go have a long talk with her and her husband later about knocking this off. We deserve to have a good life, and I won't let them interfere with it anymore." Dave told her and then let the women pull Penelope away from him to socialize and visit before they headed home for their wedding night.
"Are you really pregnant?" The innkeeper asked her. She was a round lady, but she was usually sweet. Her name was Melly, and Penelope and she had chatted a few times in the past.
"Yes." Penelope admitted.
"Is that why you quit working for them and left to be with Dave?" Melly whispered to her, wanting the latest gossip first hand from Penelope.
"It's complicated and I really don't want to talk about it at my wedding." Penelope disengaged from the conversation as politely as she could and then searched the room to find her husband. He was standing over with two deputies that were at the wedding and she made her way to him.
"I think I've about had it. Their scene at the wedding is making everyone ask me questions that I don't want to answer." Penelope told him and gave him a pleading look to get her out of here.
"We can do that. Let me just tie up a few loose ends first and we'll go home." He told her and brought her hand up to his mouth to kiss it before doing what he promised.
Penelope made her way outside to the back where their wagon and horse waited for them. Lucille was waiting for her and had a big stick in her hand. Penelope hadn't been prepared for her to be there, and she didn't have her gun with her. Backing up slowly she ran into Marvin's chest and he grabbed her arms hard and then put his hand over her mouth before she could cry out for help.
"You broke Lucille's heart," Marvin whispered hatefully in her ear. "Now she's going to break yours."
Stolen By A Highlander (Scottish Pregnancy Romance) Page 32
